Gliński before the trekking along the trail of the Battle of Monte Cassino: “Let's keep our eyes and minds open – also to the traces of history”

Today, on the route, let’s have our eyes and minds open – not only to the beauty of nature but also to the traces of history and the lessons that come from it – said on Wednesday in Cassino, before the start of the trekking along the Historic Route of the Battle of Monte Cassino, Deputy Prime Minister, head of the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage, Piotr Gliński.

The Historic Route of the Battle of Monte Cassino leads from the centre of Cassino uphill to the Polish War Cemetery and the monastery. The 12-kilometre trail was developed by the Military Publishing Institute in collaboration with the Cassino local government and the Polish National Foundation, which funded the project. The path was marked with twelve plaques, placed in symbolic places related to the Poles’ struggle for the hill. They contain short information in Polish, Italian and English, as well as photographs and situational maps.

The slogan of the first official march along the historical route of the Battle of Monte Cassino is “Don’t take shortcuts”.

“Last year in May, the official opening of the Historic Route of the Battle of Monte Cassino took place. This trail is a very important auctorial project of the Polish National Foundation (which financed the whole project) and the Military Publishing Institute, carried out in cooperation with local Italian partners. The trail commemorates subsequent stages of the Polish army’s assault and tells the story of the 2nd Polish Corps, commanded by its legendary commander, General Władysław Anders,” Deputy Prime Minister Gliński said.

He reminded that the motto of the first official trekking along the Historic Route of the Battle of Monte Cassino is “Do not take shortcuts”. In line with this motto, we will walk today the full 12-kilometre section where the heroic battles were fought by the 2nd Polish Corps,” he added.

He said that the most important thing is that “marking out this historical route, meetings along the way will have an impact on spreading the knowledge about this battle, the heroism of Polish soldiers in the fight “for your freedom and ours+.” “I am convinced that today’s trek will be a symbol of joint effort and cooperation and will become a reference point for further initiatives related to the commemoration of the Battle of Monte Cassino and its significance for the fate of World War II,” the Head of the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage said.

The Minister of Culture thanked the host of the city of Cassino, Mayor Enzo Salera, the Military Publishing Institute, the Polish National Foundation, the “APROCIS” Foundation and its President Antoine Tortolano, and the “Sporting” Running Club, headed by the Polish athlete, an athlete for years associated with the Italian land, Bogusław Mamiński.

“I also want to highlight the role of the good spirit and the person perhaps most competent in commemorating the Battle of Monte Cassino here on the ground – Mr Pino Valente, president of the “Association of Monte Cassino and the Winter Line”, who will also be our guide today,” Gliński said.

“Today on this route, let us keep our eyes and minds open – not only to the beauty of nature but also to the traces of history and the lessons that come from it. It will not be an easy road in many senses of the word, because let us remember that this heroism, this readiness to sacrifice one’s life for the homeland is still, unfortunately, current. Thanks to this heroism, nations are alive, they can defend themselves, they can fight for their identity, and culture and they can also cooperate as well as Poles and Italians do today,” the Deputy Prime Minister stressed.

Director of the Military Publishing Institute Maciej Podczaski said: “This is a historic moment in a historic place – the footsteps of General Władysław Anders will be followed by the first soldier of the Republic of Poland, Chief of the General Staff of the Polish Army, Knight of the Order of the Military Cross General Rajmund Andrzejczak and Lieutenant General Tomasz Piotrowski, Operational Commander of the Armed Forces. Thank you very much for your illustration’.